Public Impact

Raising New York state’s minimum hourly wage to $21.25, as proposed in the NYS Raise the Wage Act currently before the state Legislature, would help nearly two-thirds of workers earn a living wage, according to data from the Cornell ILR Wage Atlas.

ILR researchers have calculated the 2023 living wage for Tompkins County - $18.45 per hour - is nearly 10% higher than in 2022, the highest increase in three decades.

Since 2009, the High Road Fellowship Program has placed Cornell students in organizations around Buffalo to learn, explore, examine and revitalize the historic city. This past summer, ILR expanded the program to place 12 undergraduates in nonprofits, social justice groups, government offices and unions in the New York City region.

Theresa Woodhouse, of the ILR Dean’s Office, and three faculty members – Dina Bishara, Benjamin Rissing and Lisa Nishii – have received the 2022-23 SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence.

Community leaders and ILR School experts discussed issues such as childcare, remote and hybrid work, and housing and demographic trends at the Regional Town-Gown Conference, held April 18 at the Hotel Ithaca.

As part of its on-going public impact mission and “data democratization” initiative, the Buffalo Co-Lab has launched the Cornell ILR Eviction Filings Dashboard for New York, a tool designed to help citizens, policymakers and nonprofits more easily visualize where eviction filings have occurred since 2018.

The ILR School Climate Jobs Institute, the first U.S. academic institution focused on conducting research and developing policy for governments across the nation to support clean energy targets, is launching Jan. 25 in New York City.

The cost of living is the most important issue for residents of New York state, according to the Empire State Poll, conducted by the ILR School between June and August.

Cannabis employers see lack of training and skills, as well as lack of awareness of career opportunities, as two of the largest obstacles to achieving social equity in the adult-use market.

Today, Community Tech NY and our Cornell University ILR School Buffalo Co-Lab are launching the New York State Digital Equity Portal in partnership with NYS Education Department, New York State Library, and The John R. Oishei Foundation.

Lara Skinner, director of the ILR Worker Institute’s Labor Leading on Climate Change, will be honored Sept. 21 by the Alliance for a Greater New York with a 2021 Movement Builders Award.